Fire-arch for furnaces.



. No. 729,964. PATBNTBD 123111903.

H. A. POPPENHUSBN. FIRE-'ARCH FOR FEMMES,

Y :APPLIOATION FILED APB, 1902.

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET L rn: numus wetens co., Pguvuumo, asuma-rml a c No. 720,964. PATENTED PEB. 17, 1903.

H. A. POPPBNHUSBN. PIRE Amm .PoR PURNAGES.

APPLICATION FILED APE. 1

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.,

UNITED STATES 'PATENT Ormes.

HERMAN A. PCPPENHUSEN, CF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FIRE-ARCH FORy FURNACES.

SPECIFICATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 720,964, dated February 17, 1903.

Application filed April 4, 1902.

To all whom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN A. POPPENHU- SEN, of Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Arches for Furnaces; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in lire-arches for boiler and other furnaces, and refers more particularly to that class of 'firearches which consist of fire-bricks or tiles suspended from or supported upon metal beams or girders.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is a view in vertical longitudinal section of the forward part of a boiler-furnace provided with a fire-arch embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken through the lire-arch on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a plan section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. iis a perspective view of a modified form of the tile for the arch. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a still further modiiication of the tile.

As shown in said drawings, A indicates the front wall of a boiler-furnace, and A' the sliding fuel-door of the furnace, which is connected with any suitable mechanism (not shown) for opening and closing the same.

B designates a boiler, herein shown as having the form of a water-tube boiler provided with tubes h and with a water-head b', and C indicates a grate, herein shown as having the form of a traveling or chain grate.

In the particular instance illustrated the fire-arch is flat and inclined upwardly and forwardly and is located over the grate and beneath the Water-head of the boiler and eX tends inwardly or forwardly from the front wall A of the furnace over the rear part of the grate.

The hre-arch consists generally of two parallel transverse girders D and E and nre-brick or tiles F of elongated form, which extend from front to rear of the furnace and are sup- Serial No. 101,359x (No model.) I

ported side by side upon the girders and eX- tend between the saine. Said girders D and E are supported at their ends in the side walls A2 of the furnace, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the girder D being located near the front wall of the furnace and the girder E being located inside of and slightly above the level of the girder D, as shown in Fig. 1.

The tiles F are each made of a length equal to the width of the fire-arch from front to rear thereof, and said tiles are arranged side by side transversely across the girders and are supported by direct engagement with the upper surfaces of the saidgirders. As shown in Fig. l, said tiles are provided at their lower margins and at the ends thereof with downwardly-opening notches ff, which are preferably made as deep and wide as the depth and width of the girders, so that said girdersshall not project below the lower surfaces of the tiles, and thereby afford a resistance or impediment to the rearward travel of the gases of combustion along the under surface of the arch.

The series of elongated tiles F ofthe arch supports a superstructure g of smaller nre brick, which iills the space between the firearch and the boiler head and extends, as herein shown, from the front wall of the furnace beyond the water-head of the boiler. Said supporting-girders D and E of the rearch are hollow or tubular and, as herein fshown, have the form of cylindric tubes.

Water or other suitable cooling medium is circulated through the tubular or hollow girders for the purpose of keeping the latter cool and to prevent the intense heat of the furnace burning out and destroying the said girders. Any suitable means may be employed for maintaining the circulation through said girders. As herein shown, said girders are connected at one end of the irearch and outside of the side wall A2 of the furnace by a curved connecting fitting G,whereby the cooling medium may pass from one pipe to the other. One of the pipes-the pipe E as herein shown-is extended through the other side Wall A2 of the furnace and is connected by a pipe E with a water-tank located above the level of the girders, to which water is delivered from any suitable source of sup- IDO ply and which is adapted to contain a reserve supply of water for use in case the delivery of water be interrupted. Said tank is located such distance above the fire-arch as to afford the required head for circulating the cooling medium through the tubular girders. The end of the girder D adjacent to the pipe E is connected with a discharge-pipe D', which extends upwardly to a point above the level of the girders and preferably near the level of the tank I, so that the water will in no case be drained from the tank I, and the latter, together with the several pipes, will always contain a quantity of water by which to keep the girders supplied for a considerable period of time should there be a cessation of the supply to said tank. The said discharge-pipe D', connected with the girder D, may discharge the water, which has been heated by its passage through the girders, either into the feed-water pipe of the boiler or into any other suitable place for the disposal of the heated Water. The height of the supply-tank I from the supportinggirders will in practice be such as to give no considerable pressure upon the water in the tubular girders, the head being only sufficient to secure the constant iiow of water through the girders. It is preferred to maintain a constant supply of water to the tank, so that the heat transmitted to the girders will be carried away more rapidly than would be the case if` there were no positive circulation of water through the hollow girders. With the construction and arrangement described undue heating of the metal girders is avoided, and it is n`ot necessary to complicate the structure of the arch in a manner to protect the metal girders by preventing the iames impinging thereagainst or by providing air-passages in said arch through which a cooling air-current may be passed to keep said girders and the metal parts suitably cooled. When the feed-water for the boiler is circulated through the hollow girders, the pipe leading from the tank is preferably connected with the rear or inner girder E, which is located in the greatest heat of the furnace, and therefore requires more of the cooling effect of the water to keep the same properly cooled than the forward girder D. In this connection it may be observed that the arrangement of the girders transversely across the path of the heated products of combustion and one in rear of the other is of considerable advantage, as such arrangement enables the cooler water to be circulated through the girder subjected to the highest furnace-heat, whereby the temperature of said girders may be maintained more nearly uniform than if said girders were arranged parallel or nearly parallel to the path of the heated products of combustion.

It may be desirable in some instances to make the tiles of two longitudinally-divided parts f f', as shown in Fig. 4, and in this event the abutting end faces of the sections of the tiles are preferably provided with registering recesses, which form when the sections areassembled a keyway f2, adapted to receive va key by which the sections are locked together.

In Fig. is shown afurther modification of the tile, wherein the notches or recesses f3 to receive the girders are formed entirely in the end faces of the tile, whereby the lower surface of the arch formed by said tile is composed entirely of tile and is not interrupted by the girders, as in the construction shown in Fig. 1. In the practical use of the arch the te'mperatureof the furnace heats to incandescence the lower surface of the arch, and said heat is reflected to the incoming fuel to promote initial combustin thereof.

The form of tile shown in Fig. 5 is somewhat superior to the form shown in the other figures of the drawings, for the reason that, length for length, it presents in the arch a somewhat larger radiating-surface. Moreover, the girders which support this form of tile are removed from the direct path of the heated products of combustion. The tiley shown in Fig. 5 is composed of two sections f4 f4, like that shown in Fig. 4, which are constructed at their ends to provide a keywayf for a locking-key.

In the use of the form of tile shown in Fig. 5 the rear girder is protected from the heat of the furnace by said tile, and as this region of the furnace is relatively cool it may not be necessary in all instances to circulate a cooling medium through the rear girder.

Other changes in the structural details may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not wish to be limited to such details except as hereinafter made the subject of specific claims.

I claim as my inventionl. A fire-arch for furnaces comprising tiles arranged longitudinally side by side and of a length equal to the width of the arch from front to rear thereof, and means for supporting the forward ends of said tiles comprising a tubular girder which is supported in the side walls of the furnace and through which a cooling medium is adapted to be passed.

2. A lire-arch for furnaces comprising tiles arranged longitudinally side by side and of a length equal to the width of the arch from front to rear thereof, and means for supporting the forward ends of said tiles comprising a tubular girder which'is supported in the side walls of the furnace and through which a cooling medium is adapted to be passed, said forward ends of the tiles being provided with notches which receive said girder.

3. A fire-arch for furnaces comprising transverse tubular girders extending between and supported by the side walls of the furnace, longitudinally-arranged tiles side by side on said girders, and the length of which are equal to the width of the arch from front to rear thereof, and means for supplying a cooling medium to said tubular girders.

4. Afire-arch for furnaces comprising tubular gil-ders supported in the walls of the fur- IOO IIO

for supplying a cooling medium to said tubular girders.

5. A rearoh for furnaces comprising transverse tubular girders extending between and supported by the side walls of the furnace,l

and longitudinally-arranged tiles supported side by side on said girders, each transversely divided into a plurality of sections, and the circulating a cooling medium through said tubular girders.

7. A lire-arch for furnaces comprising transverse tubular girders which extend between and are supported by the side Walls of the furnace, dre-brick or tiles supported on said girders, a pipe-tting connecting the ends of said hollow girders at one side of the furnace, the forward one of said girders at the other side of the furnace communicating With a source supplying a cooling medium and the corresponding end ofthe rear girder communicating With a discharge-pipe.

8. A fire-arch for furnaces comprising transi verse, tubular girders which are supported by the side walls of the furnace, fire-brick for tiles supported on said girders, a pipe-fitting connecting the ends of the girders at one side of the furnace, a supply-tank located above the level of the girders and connected with one of the same at the opposite side of the furnace,and a discharge-pipe connected with the other of said girders, said discharge-pipe rising to a point above the level of the girders.

ln testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention'l a'liix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses, this 19th day of March, A. D. 1902.

HERMAN A. POPPENHUSEN.

Witnesses:

C. CLARENCE POOLE, TAYLOR E. BROWN. 

